I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 1061 1056. Conspiracy for the World

To be honest, Xu Xin is now very calm about the reorganization of the Silk Road Film Festival.

At the beginning, everyone had the same idea about the "Silk Road Film Festival".

That is, to hold an international film festival belonging to China according to the standards of the three majors.

Perhaps, the Silk Road Film Festival may never be able to be as famous as the three major European films, but including Xu Xin, everyone did not intend to challenge the three major European films at the beginning.

Others don't mention it. Xu Xin's initial obsession was just to hold a film festival with no pork and gold content, that's all.

After three film festivals, it has been proved that his concept is not wrong.

Under the strong promotion of the Xi'an Film Studio, on the surface, there has been no particularly big controversy in the awarding of almost all awards.

Even in the second session, both "A Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart" and "The Burning Sun" monopolized the awards.

Not to mention anything else, after the Silk Road, "The Burning Sun" also won in Berlin.

This proves the value of the Silk Road Film Festival.

After three film festivals, the audience's recognition of the value of this award... has actually started to gain momentum in China.

This can be seen from the fact that a low-budget movie like "Thousand Arrows Piercing the Heart" has a high box office.

Otherwise, how could they get a box office of nearly 100 million when they can't even afford to promote it?

It can be seen that the audience recognizes this award.

And behind this appearance, there is actually a market that is in a virtuous cycle.

At the first Silk Road Venture Capital Conference, investors and filmmakers exchanged ideas, and the venture capital conference handed in a very satisfactory answer.

136 million transaction amount.

For a film festival that has just covered the transaction attributes, and it is the first... the transaction amount is already quite a lot.

Not to mention, it was 10 years.

In 10 years, the box office has not yet reached a blowout, and the value of 136 million is really not low.

In the second year, this number directly soared to 350 million.

Doubled.

This year, the total investment reached 812 million.

At the beginning of December, Xu Xin saw a survey paper from Beijing Film Academy, which investigated the national movie box office data from January to November this year.

December is not counted. In these 11 months alone, the total national movie box office reached 20.9 billion yuan, an increase of 27% over the 11 months of last year.

Among them, the most exciting thing is that the proportion of domestic movie box office has reached 58%.

This is the first time that domestic movies have an advantage in the box office.

Last year's figure was 48%.

Close.

But it still didn't beat imported films.

What does this show?

It shows that the market demand for Chinese-language films is expanding. It is growing every year.

And under this market demand, building an open, transparent, safe and reasonable trading platform is a major market trend.

The Silk Road Film Festival just caught up with this trend.

With data that increases at least twice every year, it began to expand.

And how much contribution will this 800 million transaction amount make to the box office of next year's movies... Frankly speaking, no one can tell.

But if calculated according to this year's ratio, 58% of 20 billion.

Although the box office of 11.6 billion cannot be calculated by concrete proportional compression, it can be compressed by the most unscientific mathematical probability.

Half profit.

The box office of 11.6 billion, the cost of 5.8 billion, and the transaction volume of 800 million came out of the Silk Road Film Festival...

In this way, the potential of the Silk Road Film Festival is actually considerable.

Of course, it must be said that this number is estimated by Xu Xin himself. He has not seen the specific annual report. And this algorithm actually has a taste of the comparison method of austenite 304 one-yuan coins.

It is absurd and illogical.

Even so, a film festival that has been established for 3 years has begun to look forward to the market transaction share of 10 billion, which is exaggerated enough.

This cake... It is basically impossible for Xiying Studio to take it all.

What's more, they named it the Silk Road Film Festival.

It's like a cause and effect relationship.

They appropriated the thousand-year fortune of the ancient Silk Road.

Once they gained power, they should give something back.

So, the Maritime Silk Road came to seek cooperation.

At first, Xi'an was not happy... But in terms of the general trend of the world, in fact, the choice of "no choice" had already doomed the outcome at the beginning.

Xu Xin didn't complain.

Although at first he felt that the Silk Road Film Festival was not ready to connect with the international community.

It would be better to stabilize it in China for 5 or 8 years, and then turn it into an international one.

But... now the wave is coming, the country needs it, so whether they are ready or not, they must face the tide and be the first batch of trendsetters to go out.

The risk is great.

But at the same time, the opportunities are also not small.

This can be seen from the fact that after the Silk Road Film Festival Association was established this year, it was directly separated from Shaanxi and became directly under the Radio and Television Administration.

From the moment the association was established, including the founder Xu Xin, the mission of everyone was no longer as simple as "shouldering the value of domestic film awards".

They also shouldered the mission of opening up the city and expanding the territory.

But similarly, being directly under the Radio and Television Bureau also means that, in a sense, they are on par with the Golden Rooster, Hundred Flowers, and Feitian awards in terms of background.

Authoritative endorsement, equal status.

Come on, work hard.

Welcome to join this high-end game of the Nine Dragons' Succession.

The prince split up, the kings were disunited, and the kings were weak.

Well... why is it impossible to ascend to the throne?

So, it's not just Xu Xin. In fact, after everyone's mentality has changed, they no longer have the mentality of "this group of thieves" towards Fuzhou.

At least Xu Xin is gone.

At about 4 pm on the 24th, Yanjing time, he landed directly in Xi'an.

Before the commuter bus came, Xu Xin sat on the small sofa at the exit of the plane to change shoes and sent a message to Yang Mi:

"I'm in Xi'an."

Just after sending the message, less than half a minute later, the phone rang.

Xu Xin took a look at the caller and answered the phone directly:

"Hello, you say."

"Where are you?"

Zhang Yimou's voice came from the phone.

"Uh... I just arrived in Xi'an."

"Xi'an? Isn't the second round of review over? Why are you running to Xi'an instead of going home?"

"There will be a study session on the Silk Road Film Festival here, and a ceremony for the establishment of the Maritime Silk Road Film Festival, which I will attend. So I came here directly. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Zhang Yimou knew that the fourth Silk Road Film Festival would move.

But... the old man was not very sensitive about this, so he didn't think much about it.

After hearing Xu Xin's explanation, he said directly:

"When will you finish?"

"On the morning of the 30th. It will probably be around noon. Then I'll have lunch with the big leaders at noon, and it will be over."

He then asked:

"Do you have something to talk to me about?"

"Yes. On the evening of the 30th, the 4th Executive Committee of the Directors Association will hold a dinner. Do you want to attend?"

"......?"

Xu Xin subconsciously blinked twice, a little unresponsive.

Executive Committee?

Or the Directors Association?

Speaking of this, what Xu Xin remembers most is that afternoon, when he was putting on makeup, Yang Yang sat in Liu Yifei's arms with a little thought on his face that "I'm rubbing, rubbing, hehehe, rubbing"...

There's nothing else.

A work that is trembling under the "Award Regulations", without live broadcast or rebroadcast, held every two years, just participated this year, and the next one will be held in 15 years. Why do you attend it?

At this moment, the stewardess walked up to Xu Xin, and squatted down with her hand pressing down her skirt from behind:

"Director Xu, the shuttle bus is here."

"Oh, OK."

Xu Xin agreed while holding up the phone, and raised his other hand to let the stewardess not "perform such a great ceremony"...

What did he say?

Stand up!

Don't kneel!

Although he understood that this was a professional requirement and a service for VIPs, this kind of etiquette had become a habit for him.

After helping the other person to stand up, Xu Xin also stood up, hooked his finger at Su Meng next to him, and walked towards the cabin door while saying:

"Why should I go? They want me to be a judge for that award ceremony?"

"Yes. Otherwise, why would they invite you?"

"...Invite?"

Hearing the two words from the old man's mouth, Xu Xin was confused:

"Why did they invite me again? What's going on?"

"To put it simply, you are now a judge at the Berlin Film Festival and a member of the Directors Guild. They will hold an award ceremony the year after next, and it is natural to invite you to be a judge."

"... …What about the bigger picture? ”

“You haven’t watched the news today, have you?”

“No. I was a little tired yesterday. During the dinner, Li An, my golden partner, and I talked about some things about movies. We drank a little too much. I fell asleep on the plane and just woke up… Just tell me what happened.”

“Today, the Radio and Television Bureau issued a news report that included the Silk Road Film Festival as a key project of the “Leading the Road” propaganda. I just found out about it. Just now, it was Huang Jianxin who called me. He didn’t have your contact information, so he called me directly and asked me to contact you to become an executive committee member.”

“…”

At this point, Xu Xin was silent again.

He walked down the stairs in silence and got on the commuter bus.

Huang Jianxin…

He knew this person, but he had never met him.

He was from the Xiying Studio.

He was the director of the famous “Black Cannon Incident”.

He was one of the absolute golden backbones of the studio in the 1980s.

But he left in the early 1990s.

But even so, let alone anything else, “Black Cannon” alone is enough for him to be written into the glorious history of the studio.

What's more, he is the director of "Please Praise Me", the producer of "The Warlords" and "The Founding of a Republic".

He is the kind of person who was born in the northwest, but did not go to Beijing circle, but joined China Film and started his own career.

As he gradually turned to behind the scenes after the millennium, his current level belongs to... Basically, in the films produced by the national team, he will play an important role to ensure that the film does not go astray.

The newly grown audiences don't know him.

But in the circle... even the old man has to give him some face.

A very powerful director.

Oh yes, he was also invited by Wanda to pay a lot of money, and he was the producer of Sister Bingbing's "The White-Haired Witch".

However, according to Sister Bingbing, this person has basically never shown his face. He just put his name on it and let the crew open up various joints and expand the type of promotion.

But what made Xu Xin think was not this man's resume, but his confusion...the old man was actually not sensitive to some things.

How...

"How did you connect him to invite me and the Silk Road Film Festival to be included in the key projects?"

he asked in confusion.

"I was with Lao Tian just now."

Lao Tian?

Xu Xinxin asked why the old man kept using strange names today...

But... Lao Tian...

Um?

etc……

"Tian...Tian Heping?"

Xu Xin said a name in surprise.

What was received was a calm response from Zhang Yimou:

"Um."

Tian Heping.

Head of the director team work department of the 2008 Olympic Games Organizing Committee.

It was also one of the most direct bridges between the director team and the higher-ups at that time.

Familiar?

But it's too familiar.

but……

"Why did you go to see Tabe?"

"... I won't talk to you about this for now. Anyway, when Huang Jianxin called me, he was right next to me. He also heard what we talked about... After hanging up the phone, Lao Tian said to me, take a look Have you made any news again? Otherwise, Huang Jianxin would not invite you with such a "thirsty" attitude. He asked his secretary to check the news of the past two days and found that the radio and television station happened to be there at noon. News was posted…”

After hearing what the old man said, Xu Xin understood the meaning and asked:

"In other words, what Tabe means is that I received the invitation because of the Silk Road Film Festival?"

"Yes. Lao Tian's original words: Just as a Berlin Film Festival judge, Huang Jianxin would not personally call you to find Xiao Xu."

"...What else did Tabe say? Is this a sign of goodwill? Or..."

"I don't know for sure. But I guess he is also from Xiying after all. The biggest possibility I can think of is that he also wants to join the Silk Road's executive committee. I can't guess the rest."

"Well……"

Xu Xin narrowed his eyes, thought about it in the commuter car, and said:

"Then I understand. After I finish my work that morning, I will return to Yanjing in the afternoon. Do you think that's okay?"

"Okay, I have his WeChat account and can send it to you directly. You can just chat."

"Well, okay...how was the movie?"...

…

After hanging up the phone and learning that "Return" was entering its later stages, Xu Xin entered the customs and took Su Meng with her suitcase in the car to the hotel agreed with Qi Lei.

It’s very cold in Xi’an in December. It is said that it will snow today, but I don’t know if it will actually snow.

The place they agreed on was not actually a big hotel, but a small restaurant specializing in three-in-one food.

It's called Ma Laosan Noodle House.

Their three-in-one BIANNGBIANG noodles taste particularly good, and with the addition of boiled mutton and haggis, it tastes particularly comfortable.

The cold dishes are also delicious.

It's not far from the West Film Studio.

It's the kind of place that's not well-known but has a steady stream of diners from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Xu Xin has come to this store at least ten or twenty times.

It can be regarded as one of the bases for him and Qi Lei to have a drink.

Even his photo is hanging among the group photos at the entrance of the noodle shop.

He, Yang Mi, Liu Zhishi, and Liu Yifei are all here.

He quietly entered the crowded noodle shop and walked directly to the private room.

After pushing the door open and entering, he saw Qi Lei holding a cigarette and playing with his mobile phone.

After seeing Xu Xin coming in, he showed a smile:

"Here it comes. Hurry, I'm very thirsty."

Xu Xin was happy looking at the two bottles of Maotai and four cold dishes on the table.

After being out for so long, he was really craving for a taste of his hometown. He sat down directly and said to Su Meng:

"Let Lao Ma cook the food and tell him to come have a drink when he's not busy."

"OK."

Su Meng nodded and didn't come back after going out.

"Come."

Xu Xingang and Qi Lei filled up the wine, and the two of them took one.

The spicy wine stimulated him and after he picked up two peanuts, he heard Qi Lei ask:

"How's it going? Are you hopeful?"

Xu Xin naturally knew what he was asking and nodded slightly:

"My impressions are pretty much the same as last time."

Upon hearing this, Qi Lei stopped asking any more questions.

Instead, he began to introduce himself:

"Everyone who came to study today has arrived. At noon, many people came to the reception banquet arranged by Minister Wu. They also brought the next president of the executive committee..."

Xu Xin asked:

"How many years have you decided?"

"It rotates every three years. People come out from both sides of us. It rotates every three years. Outsiders can't get in for the time being."

Qi Lei shook his head slightly:

"Not only Shaanxi is protecting, Fujian also knows what is going on, and they are all protecting. In the future, they will probably come from our two families. As for the vice presidents, there are currently three. One for you, one from Fujian, and the top Send one down."

Xu Xin was not surprised by this.

Just listen to Qi Lei continue to say:

"However, Minister Wu had a thorough discussion with me after dinner. At present, the two parties have reached an agreement that the Silk Road Film Festival must not only be a success, but also be a good one. Everything must be in accordance with international standards. If it is good, it is good, and if it is not good, it is not good. In addition, , if the main theme does not participate, it will not affect the selection. At most, it will be screened and will not participate in any form of award competition."

"oh?"

Xu Xin's eyebrows suddenly became energetic.

"Already confirmed?"

"Yes, the three parties have already communicated. In other words, we can even directly nest a Cannes awards process. Anyway, the main theme will not participate, and there will be no pressure from the direction of the direction. But... the same, in terms of standards, the Executive Committee Films submitted for review must be strictly controlled. In principle, although there is no clear stipulation that films that cannot obtain the Long Label shall not be admitted to the review...but the meaning is already clear. We accept various art forms, but the bottom line is how to submit for review and how to leave after screening. Here, the judges of the executive committee should keep their eyes open.”

Although what he said was general, Xu Xin understood it clearly.

Just like "Fireworks in the Day", the judges thought it was nothing, but it is 100% impossible to pass the domestic review.

Think about it, either change it or delete it.

If there are no changes or deletions, and in principle the movie is really good, then it basically won’t be nominated. Even showing it is difficult.

If there are changes or deletions of some passionate sex scenes in the movie, then it can be screened.

Of course, this is just taking "Fireworks in the Day" as an example.

The grasp of the scale of some films still depends on the reviewers. How to do it depends on experience.

At first glance, this requirement, which undermines the art form, seems unreasonable.

But if we look at it in light of the national conditions, it can actually be considered extrajudicial.

Xu Xin was naturally very happy.

Another glass of wine was brought up.

After a few words of conversation, the door to the room was pushed open and the waiter started serving hot dishes.

It was just two people eating, and Qi Lei didn't order much.

Four cold dishes and four hot dishes.

The two of them had a bottle each, so they drank quite comfortably.

After talking about what he had studied in the past few days, Xu Xin turned the topic to the old man's phone call just now.

After Qi Lei heard Huang Jianxin's name, he didn't seem surprised. Instead, he said:

"I think it's pretty good. He does have a certain influence in China Film and Television. We are not afraid of having too many friends now. I think the so-called invitation to be a member of the Directors Guild is just an excuse...their awards are still domestic awards and must be awarded in accordance with regulations. Let's go. If the regulations are not lifted, they can only hold it once every two years.

But at our international film festival, we organize special events, and anyone with a discerning eye can see who is more popular. It's normal for him to want to go this way. Among the key projects leading the way this time, China Film currently can only rely on content output, and they are naturally not willing to lag behind others. Letting him in is equivalent to opening up an opening for China Film Group... We are all friends, and it is also good for us. mutual benefit. "

Xu Xin nodded:

"I think so too."

As he spoke, he lit a cigarette.

Amid the curls of smoke, his voice finally showed a hint of fatigue:

"It feels like the next Silk Road Film Festival will be like opening a new dungeon. It's not over yet... there are sharks smelling the blood and chasing after it."

Qi Lei glanced at him, suddenly smiled dumbly, touched the cigarette case on the table, and lit one for himself:

"What? Tired?"

"To be honest. Very tired~"

Sit back in the chair and feel the subtle feedback that these two glasses of wine bring to your body.

Xu Xin rubbed his eyes.

Only then did Qi Lei realize that his eyes were bloodshot.

"It's been a whole year, Brother Qi. I've been busy this year..."

Qi Lei wanted to say that you just came back from vacation.

But then I thought about it...no.

From the beginning of the year to now, he has really been spinning without stopping.

It's the end of the year now, and a new "copy" has appeared.

The executive committee of the Silk Road Film Festival... is actually not that difficult.

The people are chosen and the pit positions are fixed.

But the difficulty lies in how to do it well and how to take on the responsibilities that have been entrusted to it.

Domestic popularity, everyone can brainstorm ideas.

Xu Xin here, Huang Jianxin there, we can even recruit more people, this new person, that Xin... person, there is no need to worry at all.

If these people are invited and are well-known, the audience recognition will naturally be high.

But the problem is abroad.

Foreign influence is the top priority.

It’s not about how many international stars we invite... but how to promote the Silk Road Film Festival.

Follow the core concept of leading the way and charge it.

to be honest.

South Korea's one-third of an acre has set off a storm in...not to mention the world, but at least in Asia.

If China, a huge country, could not do this... Qi Lei himself would not accept it, no matter what the higher-ups thought.

What a subject country can do, we can’t do?

Really?

I do not believe.

And why would the higher-ups create such a big hole in the Silk Road this time?

To put it bluntly, the most fundamental and direct reason does not lie in how authoritative and fair the Silk Road Film Festival is. How much does the audience approve of it...or what big names are participating.

not really.

There is only one reason for the real green light.

That is because of the efforts of the factory, Xu Xin... or the efforts of the entire northwest region in the past two years, which has brought Tianchao Film back to the international scene.

"Scorching Sun", "Perfection", "Hawthorn Tree"...

Xiying's movies have made the entire Chinese film and television industry stand upright again in the West.

What's more, according to Xu Xin, this year's judges also praised "Fireworks in the Day" and "Massage".

Everyone knows how fiercely Hollywood exports its ideology.

Now, no matter whether Chinese-language films can fulfill this mission or not...the wind has already blown, and they have to go.

This is the direct reason why the Silk Road Film Festival can receive such special treatment.

But...you have to eat one bite at a time.

The people above and below know very well...the first step to make the Silk Road Film Festival stand out is to expand its base.

"According to Mr. Tian, ​​the association actually has two requirements. One, we should make more noise this year, invite others to our home, and make it more lively. Two... the transaction volume should be increased. But they will not provide direct help, so starting from next year, all the film investments in the first half of the year will be put on hold in August after approval... We must come up with a good-looking number."

Xu Xin frowned:

"What about the scale? Relax?"

"It's hard to say for the time being."

Surrounded by smoke, Qi Lei's words were also full of worries:

"The relaxation of the review scale is actually inevitable. We can only do our best to maintain the quality of the project, otherwise... God knows if there will be a bunch of out-of-control projects when this batch of movies is hatched."

He almost wrote the three words "big bad movie" on his face.

But he still said it very implicitly.

But Xu Xin said directly:

"But the problem is, how can you have so many excellent producers who can control the projects?"

"..."

Qi Lei did not answer this question.

Because he didn't know how to say it.

It’s not that the West Film Studio has handled many bad film projects...

How should I put it.

There are two effective measures to control the highest risk rate of the project when making a movie. First, control the director and script process in the early stage. Second, excellent producers control the budget, expenses, crew control, director coordination, etc. during the filming of the movie.

These two points are the most important things that investment companies need to do and do well.

And companies that don’t do these two things well will basically be pitted.

For example, Wong Kar-wai, who was almost blacklisted by Hong Kong.

Another example is the prop companies of all sizes in Hengdian now...

In the filming of a movie, if you want to squeeze the oil and water, it’s too easy. But the oil and water squeezed are the vitality of a movie.

Both of them understand this truth.

As the West Film Studio, these two points are what they must do well.

But the problem is that if the hole is opened now... With the weakening of the factory’s control, how many shoddy things will come up, that is an unknown number.

What's more, compared to these, Xu Xin is more worried that because of the poor control of the projects, they have painted those originally good projects with mediocre colors.

That's really uncomfortable.

Although it is the end of the year, but... the opening problem of the new year has actually appeared.

Just jumped onto the table and jumped in front of the two people.

Maybe some people will say that Xu Xin thinks too much.

Maybe they will think that Qi Lei is worrying about nothing.

But...

As the old saying goes, villains plan for themselves, gentlemen plan for the country, and real men plan for the world.

Xu Xin doesn't think he is a pessimist, but since he has seen some things... he must plan ahead.

Otherwise, when something really happens, it will be too late.

But at this moment, Xu Xin's heart has a question that has been bothering him before.

Is it...

Is he really going to retreat behind the scenes?

For that... future that can make Chinese-language films flourish?